Risk of bias
Research Methods
Definition. Risk of bias is the likelihood that features of a study’s design or conduct lead to systematic error in its results.
Explanation
Domain-based tools assess bias in different study types, for example PROBAST for prediction model studies (Wolff et al., 2019). Large language models have been tested for automating risk of bias assessment, with mixed performance (Forero et al., 2025).
Related concepts
Systematic review GRADE approach Confounding Randomized controlled trial (RCT)
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References
Forero, D. A., Abreu, S. E., & Tovar, B. E. (2025). Automated analyses of risk of bias and critical appraisal of systematic reviews: A comparison of the performance of 4 large language models. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 32 (9), 1471–1476. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocaf117
Wolff, R. F., Moons, K. G. M., Riley, R. D., Whiting, P. F., Westwood, M., Collins, G. S., Reitsma, J. B., Kleijnen, J., & Mallett, S. (2019). PROBAST: A tool to assess the risk of bias and applicability of prediction model studies. Annals of Internal Medicine, 170 (1), 51–58. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-1376
Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Risk of bias. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/risk-of-bias/